Saturday, 6 February 2016

Rajnath seeks clerics’ help to stop IS recruits

Rajnath seeks clerics’ help to stop IS recruits

The hour-long
meeting, also attended by NSA Ajit Doval and senior Home Ministry
officials, apprised the Muslim clerics about activities of the
Middle-East terrorist group and its efforts to attract Indian youth to
its fold.

Amid a nationwide crackdown on Islamic State (IS) recruitment, a delegation of Muslim clerics and leaders met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
on Tuesday and discussed “issues concerning the community”. Source said
the home minister sought the delegation’s support to prevent Muslim
youth from being lured by oufits like the IS. According to sources, Singh admitted a “lack of confidence” in the government among some religious groups.

“The minister started off by saying that he wanted a free and open
dialogue to resolve these pending issues and to clarify some of the
misperceptions that are created by controversial remarks that give a
negative impression about BJP-RSS,” said a source.

Community leaders raised a range of issues, including the minority
status of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, the
Communal Violence Bill and the 123 Wakf properties in Delhi that are in
possession of various government agencies.

“The problem is that behind closed doors, the minister talks about
lack of confidence, but the government, instead of taking punitive
action against communal loudmouths, actually rewards them,” said a
cleric present at the meeting.

NSA Ajit Doval and IB chief Dineshwar Sharma also attended the meeting.
According to sources, the home minister sought the support of the
delegation in counter radicalisation measures to prevent Muslim youth
from falling prey to outfits like the IS. At the same time, he stressed
that India’s traditions and family values would thwart any
radicalisation attempts.